Bravo

NeNe Leakesis squashing any rumors of her being cut from Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of Atlanta.” Rumors of NeNe and her frienemy Kim Zolciakhave been circulating ever since unnamed sources told the New York Daily News that Bravo might drop them since they have become more demanding. In an interview with Sister 2 Sister, NeNe sets the record straight.

“This is all I can tell you—and I don’t want to talk about: Every housewife has been invited back,” NeNe revealed to S2S exclusively.

However, NeNe reveals that she has received some offers and has other options. In addition, her terms of agreement with Bravo is clear. If Bravo drops her from the show, she is free to pursue her other options but if she quits then she is out of luck until her contract expires. As far as contracts are concerned, all the housewives including DeShawn Snow signed up for several years at a time.

“They try to lock you in for a number of years,” she explained to S2S. “We all signed up for a third season when we signed on from day one. If anybody has been fired, nobody knows anything about it. We know nothing about it. I don’t know where the rumor came from.”

According to Daytime Confidential, the buzz around town is Bravo will be adding another housewife and the speculation is that former soap opera diva Victoria Rowell (ex-Drucilla Barber-Winters on The Young and the Restless) will join the cast. While this seemed like a crazy rumor, Victoria surprisingly doesn’t deny it! She gave the following statement when asked -

“In my career as an entertainer I get solicited to do quite a number of things,” Rowell began coyly with a giggle, “whether it be to write reviews for a fellow author’s book, or participate in reality programming. The question has been posed from time to time about me joining the Housewives franchise, whether it be in Atlanta or somewhere else. As you know, I now spend a lot time in Atlanta. I know the fans would love to see me on television again, whether it be on a soap opera or as a real housewife of Atlanta. So, you know, we’ll see. I always say, never say never!”

Not sure if Victoria has seen the show or not, but she might want to consider running far far away from this very entertaining trainwreck of a show.

TELL US – WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE VICTORIA ROWELL JOIN THE ATLANTA HOUSEWIVES?

This season has chronicled the housewives’ financial struggles whether small or major. Gretchen Rossi had a garage sale, Jeana Keough went shopping with her daughter at H&M, Tamra Barney is now doing her own housework, and coming up soon will be the eviction of Lynne Curtin. Off camera, Slade Smiley’s financial difficulty is also common knowledge since the publication of a report showing he owes over $80,000 in back child support.

All of the above is a drastic turn from what we’re used to seeing from the OC Housewives. Long gone are the days of buying yatches, diamond rolexes and harleys. A new article from the Huffington Post details the financial woes of the housewives. “All of them have been very much affected by the economic situation,” explains the show’s executive producer, Douglas Ross.

Ross discusses the upcoming episode that will show Lynne’s family being evicted. “We try to treat it as gently but as honestly as we can,” Ross says. “We happened to have been there with our cameras … as part of our normal schedule when they were served the eviction notice. It’s one of those great reality TV moments that happened to be caught because we were in the right place at the right time.”

And though money can be a sensitive issue, the OC housewives don’t seem to mind sharing their struggles with millions of viewers. “It helps people across the nation because they realize it’s not just them,” says Jeana. “I’m pretty open. … There’s not too much I’ll hide. It was difficult for my husband … but the world’s in this place right now and I think people are going to relate to it,” adds Tamra.

Though the housewives get paid to appear on the show, Jeana says the amount (rumored to be $100,000 per housewife) is not enough to support a family. “It’s so minimal. It’s not enough to make your house payments. It’s more like a location fee to keep your house clean.”

Vicky Gunvalsonis however one of the luckier housewives as her insurance business is booming more than ever. “When I first started (on the show), I was working out of the house with two employees and now I have a huge office with 10 employees, 700 agents out in the field,” says Vicki, who plans to retire comfortably at age 55. Interestingly, the HuffingtonPost article quotes Vicki as saying she is 42 years old, which is false as she is 47.

Despite her very public eviction, Lynne says things are looking up for she and her family as she predicts they will be able to build a house next year. “My husband is a builder in Southern California. It’s not like he doesn’t try. He’s not sitting at home watching TV. He is going out and making an effort. … I’ve been married for 20 years. … We’ve had the high life we’ve had the low life. It’s just reality.”

Kim recently performed at the Splash Bar in New York City. In between her performances (yes she performed more than once) Kim announced that she is “with someone” and “happier than ever”. Bravo Sr. Vice President of Programming Andy Cohen, who was also at the event, joined Kim on stage and asked her who the lucky guy was. To which Kim answered, “who said it was a man?”

This of course led others to believe she was referring to a woman. Kim was then seen spending some time giggling and cuddling backstage with the woman above, who introduced herself as DJ Tracy Young.

Apparently, DJ Tracy is also loaded. Dina Manzo of the Real Housewives of New Jersey was also at the event.

Tell Us – Are You Buying Kim As a Lesbian? Or Is This Just Another Ploy For Attention?

The Real Housewives of Atlanta will return for a third season but some of the housewives may not be returning. According to a NYDailyNews report, NeNe LeakesandKim Zolciak have become more demanding, requesting more money from Bravo to appear on the show. Bravo on the other hand isn’t willingly to succumb to their demands and may have plans to have the two “divas” replaced.

“Bravo has been taking meetings with some notable and wealthy Atlanta women about possibly joining the show,” says the insider. “They’re trying their best to keep the process under wraps, but they’re gearing up to make a major move in the third season.”

TMZ is also reporting that part of Nene and Kim’s demands includes having Bravo pay their electric bill, demanding an upgrade in flying from coach to first class, and they also want stipends for wardrobe, hair and make-up.

According to the source, Bravo wants the other housewives - Kandi Burruss, Sheree WhitfieldandLisa Wu to return as long as they like. “Kandi was a fan favorite last season. Her audience approval ratings were through the roof,” the insider explains. “And Sheree’s clothing line [She by Sheree] and her catch phrase, ‘Who gonna check me, boo?’ were definite standouts.”

“Things with NeNe and Kim have been intense,” says the source, “but Bravo feels the show is about the franchise as a whole and won’t let one person stop it.”

No one seems to be commenting including Bravo and reps for NeNe and Kim. I’m guessing Bravo leaked out this story as a ploy to tell Kim & Nene to get on board or else. The same thing happened right before the Real Housewives of NYC started filming, Jill Zarin allegedly wanted more money, and Bravo wasted no time casting for new housewives, threatening to replace Jill.

Tamra wanted Gretchen to admit to wrongdoing, and Gretchen wanted an apology from Tamra. In a new interview with RadarOnline, Tamra opens up a new can of worms as she once again bashes Gretchen and her boyfriend, Slade Smiley.

Tamra refers to Slade as a “douche bag”, and referred to Gretchen as “always lying,” especially about the allegations that she was cheating on her dying fiancé Jeff Bietzel. Tamra then upped the ante by telling RadarOnline: “I challenge you, Gretchen Christine Rossi for a lie detector test. If you pass, I will forgive you.”

The subject then turned to new housewife, Alexis Bellino, whom Tamra claims to actually like. “I like Alexis,” Tamra said. “I think so far she’s a really good match with us, she seems to be very sweet.”

Really hope Tamra Sue’s getting paid for these interviews, it just seems rather catty and unnecessary.

TELL US – WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS STORY AND LAST NIGHT’S EPISODE OF THE OC HOUSEWIVES? ARE SIMON AND JIM CONTROLLING HUSBANDS?

The above preview shows Tamra and Gretchen doing lunch, as the two attempt to put the past behind them. Tamra once again brings up Gretchen’s alleged boyfriend, Jay Photoglou. The Jay drama began when Jay called Tamra during filming last year, and told Tamra that Gretchen was cheating on her then fiance Jeff Beitzel, with him. When most 40 year old mothers receive random phone calls from random men in the middle of the night, they tend to ignore it, block their numbers, or tell him to never call them anymore, but no, not our Tamra. How could she pass up an opportunity to get some damaging info against Gretchen, who she seemed to be rather jealous of for no reason at all. Tamra of course entertained Jay and even struck up somewhat of a friendship with him.

The drama continued as Jay continued to call and email Tamra. The led to Tamra accusing Gretchen of two timing Jeff during the Reunion show, as well as some name calling between the two ladies in the media. Jay in the meantime continued to leak numerous scandalous photos of Gretchen, including the now infamous vibrator photos.

Some of the leaked photos include Gretchen kissing Jay while wearing her engagement ring from Jeff. Gretchen interestingly has never really explained these photos, and maintains she never cheated on Jeff.

In the mean time, the feud between Tamra and Gretchen has even gotten nastier based on a recent interview they both gave In Touch magazine. You can read that story here.

TELL US – WHO’S SIDE ARE YOU ON? WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON TONIGHT’S EPISODE?

Photos of Gretchen & Jay are below –

Michael Voltaggio has been crowned the new winner of Top Chef’s Season 6.

Michael beat out the other 2 finalists, his brother BryanVoltaggio, and Kevin Gillespie, a chef from Atlanta. Michael was named the Top Chef champ after serving the judges an impressive four-course menu in California wine country that showed his creativity and technical talent.

Kevin was the first sent home out of the final 3, leaving the two brothers to battle it out for the win. At the end of the day, the judges felt Michael was the stronger of the two.

Michael wins $225,000 in cash and merchandise, a spread in Food & Wine magazine and a showcase at the annual Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, Colorado. “I wish both of us could win,” Michael said of his brother, breaking into tears when their mother walked out.

Kelly also decided to show off her gymnastic skills as she proceeded to do some cartwheels on the beach shore.

As we reported earlier, the 44-year-old former model will be stripping down for Playboy magazine. “It’s the ultimate compliment and every woman’s dream. You get to be a sex symbol and work with top people in the business. It’s such an honor,” says Kelly on posing for Playboy.